“As the first red-headed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power will cut a distinctive figure in the organization’s staid meeting rooms and endless cocktail receptions. But she will also stand out in ways that go well beyond appearance. By virtue of her youth, professional background, philosophical commitments, and direct personal style, Power has the potential to be a uniquely effective U.S. envoy.

“By raising the UN’s visibility and cache, and by doubling down on its role as a force for human rights and the mediation of violent conflict, Power could be just what the United Nations needs to help galvanize it for the twenty-first century.”

Nossel says the horrors that Power witnessed when covering the Balkans War led her to a distinguished career protecting human rights.

“Power’s foreign policy career was born in a war zone, and the horrors she witnessed have left a permanent mark. “

As a result Power is not averse to risks Nossel believes.

“It quickly became clear that Power favored action over indefinite deliberation, a quality that career officials found alternately electrifying and terrifying.”

“Critics on the left will scorn Power for her support for military intervention in Libya and backing for U.S. engagement to prevent and stop atrocities in far-flung places. Some of these analysts believe that the United States does more harm than good around the world, almost regardless of who is in power and what policies are being pursued,” writes Nossel

With Power at the UN Nossel concludes, “The United States may finally come to recognize that in an era of shrunken budgets and diffused global power, a well-functioning and empowered UN can be a crucial vehicle to get things done.”